Newly crowned British Champion Cameron Mason leads a trio of Scots to Hoogerheide this weekend for the UCI World Cyclocross Championships.
Cameron Mason will be joined by siblings Corran Carrick-Anderson and Emily Carrick-Anderson in the Netherlands.
Mason comes into the World Championships with strong form, in what is easily his best season to date, a win in the mud of Westmorland seeing him crowned British champion for the first time. After his win at Callendar Park, which opened his season in October, the Linlithgow rider raced the Dublin and Gavere World Cup rounds picking up a brace of top 10 finishes.
A strong block of racing over the 'kerstperiode’ included an excellent fourth place in Loenhout – with only the big three of Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock ahead of him – showing the huge step-up Mason has made this winter.
Carefully planned blocks of training, interspersed with racing, have been the recipe for Mason’s success, coupled with a consistent gym programme have turned him into a truly world-class rider, who can perform on any course. Hoogerheide, in the north of The Netherlands is set to be fast and with one long power-climb, but who knows what the weather will do between now and Sunday’s senior men’s showdown.
Corran Carrick-Anderson has had a light race calendar this winter, a later start after an extensive mountain bike season, and then concussion, meaning he comes in both fresh and hungry to prove himself at the highest level. A win in the British Trophy round in Broughton Hall just before Christmas, as well as a top ten finish at the Under 23 race in Baal have given glimpses of his promise, and he will look to replicate that form in the Under 23 Men’s race on Saturday.
Last, but by no means least, Emily Carrick-Anderson will contest her final championship race in the junior category on Saturday, a win at Clanfield CX amongst a strong overall performance in the British Trophy Series, which saw her claim second overall. The Scot raced in France last weekend, finishing 15th in the World Cup at Besancon – she'll be looking to peak when it matters most this weekend.
As well as the individual races, we may see the trio of Scots together in the Team Relay on Friday lunchtime.
How to follow
As is the case with World Championships, the racing is free to view on the BBC. The BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer will be broadcasting every race online and on the red button. Meanwhile Eurosport and GCN will also be broadcasting every race from the Netherlands, via their platforms, as they have done all cyclocross season.
We’ll also keep you up to date with all the action from the Netherlands via our social media channels @ScottishCycling.
